In June 2015, the Federal Supreme Court
sentenced an Emirati woman, Alaa Bader al-Hashemi, to death for the murder of Ibolya Ryan and planting a
handmade bomb in an Egyptian-American doctor's home in Abu Dhabi. The woman
committed the crime in December 2014 and was executed at dawn on July 13, 2015.
This is the only time that a prisoner has been executed within such a short
time frame and this is the one of the few cases of a woman being executed.
Let us not forget Ibolya Ryan,
a Romanian American Teacher from Colorado who was murdered in Abu Dhabi on
December 1, 2014. Justice was swift and sure as the killer, was executed by firing squad on July 13, 2015, only 7
months after the crime.
I
will post information about this case from Wikipedia.
Murder of Ibolya Ryan
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Location
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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Date
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1 December 2014
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Deaths
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1
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Non-fatal injuries
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0
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Perpetrator
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Ala'a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi
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Ibolya Ryan was a Hungarian (raised in
Romania)-American kindergarten teacher murdered in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, on 1 December 2014.
Overview
The
murder was committed by a woman wearing black gloves and a veiled niqab, who proved to
be unknown to the victim. After committing the murder, the perpetrator planted
a bomb at the home of an Arab–American physician. These attacks, taking place
in the wake of a spate of recent attacks on Westerners in Saudi
Arabia, attracted international coverage and raised concerns in the
international security and business communities.
The
stabbing, which took place in Boutik Mall, an
Abu Dhabi shopping mall located on Al
Reem Island, and was caught on tape in a routine surveillance video,
unsettled citizens and the foreign population of Abu Dhabi because acts of
terrorism are such a rare event in the United Arab Emirates.
The
Emirates have classified the murder as a lone wolf terrorist attack inspired by
terrorist ideology acquired online.
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| Police in the United Arab Emirates made an arrest in the deadly stabbing of a Colorado teacher at an Abu Dhabi mall. |
Incident
Murder
At
the beginning of the investigation, authorities left open the possibility the
murderer could have been a man in disguise. Two days after the murder, on 3
December, Abu Dhabi Police released a statement that,
"Investigations are still under way to identify the suspect's identity and
gender. Witnesses reported that the culprit was fully covered wearing an abaya,
black gloves and face cover." Abu Dhabi Security Media Department at the
Ministry of Interior posted a video on its official YouTube channel,
showing CCTV
footage of the suspect, dubbed the “Reem Island Ghost”, who stabbed the
American kindergarten teacher Ibolya on Monday afternoon on Al
Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. On the CCTV footage, people on the scene can
be seen reacting to the killing. One mother with a young child can be seen
hurrying him away while security guards move towards the corridor. People
appear to be alerted to something happening in the toilets and while a security
guard moves along the corridor into them, the suspect moves towards the
elevators. The video then shows the assailant fleeing the scene following the
crime that took place inside the washroom of a shopping mall, wearing a black
abaya, black gloves and the face-covering veil known as niqab.
Police
said the victim was stabbed to death with a "sharp tool" following an
argument in a women's restroom. On the surveillance footage, the robed suspect
is seen stepping off an elevator, briefly interacting with a security guard,
then taking a newspaper before walking toward the restroom. Some 90 minutes
later, the suspected attacker runs back into the lobby as shoppers scatter,
shakes off a woman who tries to stop the suspect, and boards an elevator to a
parking garage before fleeing. The tape ends with footage of a bloody trail of
footprints leading from one of the restroom stalls.
On
the morning of Thursday 4 December, news sources mentioned that Abu
Dhabi Police were able to catch the killer. Later during the day, General
HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Interior in UAE, said that the security and police
forces arrested the suspected "Niqabi" woman for the brutal murder of
the American teacher. He emphasized that the suspect was identified in less
than 24 hours, and arrested in less than 48 hours. He explained that after
committing her first crime, the "Niqabi" suspect went to another
building located at the Abu Dhabi Corniche where she planted a primitive bomb
on the doorstep of an Egyptian American doctor's house. The police forces were
able to dismantle the bomb time before it detonated.
Sheikh
Saif described the crime as “a slap to every noble human value that the UAE
cherishes- all of which are derived from the teachings of Islam and the genuine
Arab heritage.” He stressed that the UAE vigorously defends such civilized
values both on its own soil and outside of its borders, and expressed his deep
sorrow to witness such crimes in a country that is characterized by security
and safety.
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Alaa Al Hashemi, 30, was found guilty of
murdering Ibolya Ryan in a toilet stall in Boutik Mall. Courtesy Security Media
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Murderer
There
was a conflict in information about the real identity of the murderer. While
international news coverage mentioned that the murderer was 38-year-old
Yemen-born U.A.E. citizen Dalal al Hashemi, UAE based newspapers mentioned on
December 4 that the murderer was not called Dalal al Hashemi. A few months
later, UAE based news coverages started to refer to the murderer as Alaa Bader
Abdullah, also called Ala'a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi.
The
woman was reported to have been executed in 2015.
Attempted
bombing
Security
videos show, and police reports confirm, that Ryan's murderer returned to her
car and drove to the home of an Egyptian-American ex-pat physician where she
planted a bomb, which was discovered by the physician's son before it could
explode. The physician's 13-year-old son discovered the bomb on his way to
evening prayers at mosque. According to WAM, the materials used in the homemade
bomb were "primitive".
The
Security Media Department posted a dramatic YouTube video
explaining the details of the crime which included images taken from CCTV. The video also
highlighted the search and inspection procedures conducted by the police and
security forces, which eventually led to the arrest of the suspect and solved
the mystery behind the crime. There are also shots showing the same white SUV that the suspect was
seen driving from the scene of the crime. Blood can be seen on the steering
wheel and a black suitcase - identical to the one she allegedly carried to the
doctor's apartment - are also shown in the police video. In the 4th of December
video, the suspect is also seen heading towards the doctor's home with a small
black suitcase. A security guard said he saw her enter and then leave quickly.
The bomb was spotted when the doctor's son was going to mosque in the evening
to pray and noticed the strange object in front of the house. Colonel Rashid
Bourshid, head of the criminal investigation department, said: 'The doctor who
was targeted with the bomb, 46-year-old MH, informed the security guard about
the strange package in front of his door. The guard in turn informed the police
who rushed to the spot and evacuated the site. They dismantled the bomb and
identified its primitive components that included small gas cylinders, a
lighter, glue, and nails to cause maximum injuries when detonated.'
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Ibolya Ryan
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Victim
Ryan
was a Romanian-born US citizen. She was a mother of 11-year-old twins who lived
with her in Abu Dhabi and a 13-year-old daughter, who lived with Ryan's
ex-husband, Paul Ryan, in Vienna. She self-described as a Hungarian, born and
raised in Romania, who taught in four countries including the United States
over the past 15 years. She and her husband moved to Sopron, Hungary with their
3 children about 8 years before her death, and subsequently divorced.
Classification
as terrorism
The
move to classify the incident as an act of terrorism was not taken lightly in
Abu Dhabi, where the economy depends on the labor of hundreds of thousands of ex-pats and on
tourism. According to an unnamed security official in the U.A.E. and reported
by the official WAM (Emirates News Agency), shortly
before the attack the killer had, logged on to terrorist websites, and
“acquired the terrorism ideology and learned how to manufacture explosives.”
According to WAM, the “crimes she had committed are the result of a personal
instigation and a lone terrorist act.”
Context
The
economy of the UAE depends on the tight security for which its member states
are noted.
The
murder followed a September 2014 statement by Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, spokesman for the
self-described Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant urging Muslims to murder Westerners and people from any country
participating in attacks on the Islamic State — "kill him in any manner or
way however it may be." The Emirate has taken an important and
well-publicized role in that war. The attack can be viewed as part of a
"trend of terrorist acts through inspiration rather than a direct order
from militant groups", including the 2014
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ramming attack, the beheading of French tourist Herve Gourdel in Algeria, and
recent killings of Danish and American nationals in Saudi Arabia.
Response
The
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) issued new security warnings on 5 December, advising that indiscriminate
attacks could be made on foreigners in the Gulf States and elsewhere, “Attacks
could be directed against British interests. There is considered to be a heightened
threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals,
from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.”
The
US State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council
(OSAC) issued a new security advisory, urging Americans in the Gulf to vary
their routines and schedules. American Security officials had previously warned
ex-pats working in the Middle East of a jihadist web
posting urging attacks on teachers in American schools.
A
fundraising effort was launched by the recruitment firm involved with bringing
Ryan to Abu Dhabi in order to bring Ryan's body home and provide for her
children's education. The Ryan family took control of the fund weeks later and
repurposed it to assist Ryan's family in Romania.
The
expat community in Abu Dhabi was shaken by the murder; security in Abu Dhabi is
tight and the country is usually considered safe for foreign workers.
Trial
In
late June 2015, the Federal Supreme Court
in Abu Dhabi sentenced to death
the accused Emirati woman, Alaa Bader al-Hashemi, for the crimes. The ruling
was made by the supreme court, and could not be appealed. Hashemi had
reportedly requested the court for psychological help, on account of a chronic
mental illness and "unreal visions". However, psychiatric tests
ordered by the court showed that she had been aware of her actions and that her
mental condition was not found to have affected her actions.
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The Firing Squad in Indonesia.
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Execution
Ahmed Al Dhanhani, Attorney General
for the State Security Prosecution, announced that on Monday morning, July 13,
2015, the ruling of The State Security Circuit of the Federal Supreme Court No.
73 of 2015 on the execution of Alaa Bader Abdullah had been carried out,
following the approval of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan.
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